Healthy / Vitality / Mind / Body / Wellness

All-natural Skin, Hands and Feet, Hair and Eye Care

Ayurveda emphasizes beauty from within, a beauty that come from health and well-being, not from cosmetics or anything that tries to cover up the true you. Because healthy skin and beauty go hand in hand. Indian women are encouraged to care for their complexion from a very young age. Simple, all-natural beauty treatments that emphasize balance and serenity have been passed down by Indian women from generation to generation. These easy routines for caring for your skin, hands and feet, hair, and eyes all help to balance the doshas and increase vitality, or ojas.

Ayurvedic skin care begins with abhyanga, a therapeutic self-applied oil massage that nourishes the skin, because looking good depends on feeling good, giving yourself a massage every day may be the best beauty secret we have. The combination of the gentle motion of the massage and the healing powers of herb-infused oils is optimum for stimulating the dosha energies to carry on their natural function and retain balance, as well as for toning the skin and its underlying muscles and tissue. If using oils feels strange to you, start practicing abhyanga with a light oil like almond or sunflower, and focus on the soothing effects of the massage. Abhyanga is traditionally a daily massage for the face and entire body, but if you do not have enough time for the full routine, focus on the head, face, hands and feet for maximum results.

Abhyanga self-massage is traditionally performed with oils prepared from medicinal herbs that balance the doshas. While these herb-infused oils are readily available from specialty shops and from the resources listed in the book, it is also easy to make your own simple infused oil by combining a base oil with readily available culinary herbs, spices and flowers, many of which you might already have in your own kitchen.